Several workers of farmhouses illegally constructed in low-lying regions close to the river were among the thousands of individuals affected by the floods along the banks of the Yamuna in Noida this week, according to officials.
Thousands of farm workers and staff members, according to government officials, were not relocated to safety in time, despite advisories being sent before the area became under water.
These farmhouses are two km off the Noida-Greater Noida Motorway, next to the village of Nagli Wajidpur in Sector 135, on the other side of the pushta (embankment) facing the Yamuna.
‘More than 500 such people were evacuated on Thursday and Friday from the farmhouses. As water entered the ground level, many of those stranded, including women, had taken shelter on second storey of the farmhouses. They carried some food and water with them which had started to run out,’ an officer engaged in rescue and relief measures told PTI.
On Thursday, when top police officers and government representatives made a boat journey deep into the inundated districts, several of these stranded people were found.
Rescue efforts were being carried out by a number of teams from the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, Provincial Armed Constabulary, Noida Police, Fire Brigade, Noida Authority, and local village inhabitants.
‘Most of the structures in the floodplains are illegally constructed. We demolished over 250 farmhouses in anti-encroachment drives in recent past. A survey estimated presence of around 500-600 more such illegal structures against which action would be ensured in coming days,’ Noida Authority CEO Ritu Maheshwari told PTI during a Friday site inspection.
The IAS officer reported that many of the farmhouse owners had filed court papers to prevent the destruction of their buildings.
According to District Magistrate Manish Kumar Verma, the floods caused 550 hectares of land in Gautam Buddh Nagar to become under water. The floods also had an impact on residents of the Hindon and Jewar areas of Greater Noida, but Noida residents were the most severely affected.
‘Advisories were being issued to the people inhabiting the low-lying regions here for past 10 days when heavy rainfall started in the region and water level in the rivers rose. Despite this many stayed back and did not move to safety in time,’ Verma, who visited the site several times on Thursday and Friday, told PTI.
Kaushalya, who is about 50 years old, claimed to work at a farmhouse but was left behind without assistance until Friday evening, when a group of rescuers took her and her husband back to safety. ‘My husband and I were confined to the farmhouse.’ As she stepped off a boat into a partially inundated road leading to the cluster of farmhouses, Kaushalya told PTI, ‘We both feel safe today and are grateful to people who saved us.’
Some of the rescued folks are now living on the embankment in makeshift homes with tarpaulin roofs to provide them with shelter. One of them, Shiv Pal, age 45, claimed to be working at a farm with his wife and that they left on Thursday barely in time.
‘We have two daughters who are getting married, so we live here and work to make some money.’ As the pair waited to resume working in the farmhouse once the water receded, Shiv Pal’s wife explained, ‘The daughters live back home in Shahjahanpur.’
Overflowing Yamuna submerged almost 550 hectares of low-lying area along its banks in Noida and Greater Noida by Friday evening, affecting a total of 7,210 people.
3,610 of the affected individuals have been relocated and brought into shelter houses where plans have been made for their accommodation, food, water, and prescription medications.
According to recorded data, as many as 5,974 animals, including cattle, dogs, rabbits, ducks, roosters, and guinea pigs, have been relocated from the flooded areas to safety since Thursday.
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